


Cosmological Constants

by winged_mammal



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, One of My Favorites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-21
Updated: 2011-09-21
Packaged: 2017-10-23 22:10:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/255577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winged_mammal/pseuds/winged_mammal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A late-night philosophical discussion, and a bit of Borg-style romance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cosmological Constants

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks go to Neil deGrasse Tyson for writing about science in such a way as to inspire us all - though somehow, I doubt this was the sort of inspiration he had in mind.

A soft voice breaks through the silence of the night.

"Do you believe in the existence of a deity, Kathryn?"

"No, not really. Why?"

"You often invoke 'God' when we are together."

"Oh. Well... that's just because I'm thanking all that is infinite and unknowable in this universe that you saw fit to love me. 'God' is just the best word we have for that. It doesn't necessarily imply faith."

"I see."

Fabric rustles; a body shifts.

"What about you?"

"The Borg have assimilated thousands of cultures, and the only thing they all have in common is that at some point in their evolution, they have questioned the reason for their existence. Some species turned to science for their answers, others to religion, or to secular philosophy - and individuals within these cultures subscribed to any or all of these. The Collective understands its reason for being. The origin of this reason is irrelevant. There is no need for faith."

"You're not part of the Collective anymore, Seven."

"No."

A pause, consideration.

"Do you know, Kathryn, what every cosmologist in the known history of the galaxy has agreed will be the ultimate fate of the universe?"

"Can't say I do, no."

"When any scientifically-minded species attains a level of technology advanced enough to enable them to do so, they seek the answers to their questions in the sky. They observe the universe, and conclude that it is expanding. They discover that the equations that describe this expansion call for a term that represents the energy contained in what would otherwise be called empty space. This in turn leads to the discovery that what humans term 'dark energy' comprises, at present, seventy-three percent of the energy density of the universe, and is in fact present in every cubic centimeter of otherwise unoccupied space. When they extrapolate based upon the known conditions of the universe shortly after its inception, they find that the ratio of dark energy to matter in the universe must inevitably increase over time."

"Einstein's cosmological constant. "

"Yes. As the universe continues to expand, the matter within it becomes diffuse, separated by billions of light-years of dark energy, unable to coalesce into anything more than grains of dust. The average temperature nears absolute zero, stars burn out or go supernova - and all the while, any remaining sentient species will exist on planets within galaxies whose nearest neighbors have moved so far apart that they will be unable to detect them by any possible means. They will, in essence, be alone in the universe. Further, as they cannot observe any other galaxy, they will be unable to discover so simple a thing as the expansion of the universe."

"That is... incredibly depressing, Seven."

"Perhaps."

"It's all very deep and profound, but what does it have to do with faith?"

"These are mere facts. They are undeniable, unavoidable, and describe with simple efficiency what will eventually occur to us, and the ship, and Earth - everyone and everything we know. There is nothing more, nor is there a hidden purpose to our lives that we must uncover in order to make sense of our existence. This holds no sense of wonder for me. It simply is."

Metal-encased fingers brush through auburn hair.

"You are my faith, Kathryn. What I feel for you is, as you say, infinite and unknowable; I could spend the remainder of my life contemplating how or why it has occurred, but I will never be able to understand it. I am content to simply let it be, and enjoy the time we have while our atoms fight the natural entropy of the universe, together."

Starlight reflects off glistening eyes; lips meet, and the night falls silent once more.


End file.
